BillFitzmaurice.info

We have been building some cabs with automotive finishes. I thought I would share a couple of projects. One is a yellow AT for Elliott here on our forum and the other is a THT. Let me say first that I would almost prefer to work with metal for these finishes than wood. I used my Festool track saw to square each side before rounding over the corners. This provided straight sight lines and gave us a gide to where the wood was high and low. Then a filler coat of bondo....then sanding...then a glaze coat of bondo...then sanding...then a glaze coat...then sanding...then a feathering coat...then sanding...then primer, color, then sanding, then decals, then clear, then sanding, then more clear, then wet sanding, then buffing, then realizing that most of the material you put on the cab is now a fine powder coating everything in the shop. Another look reveals more blemishes so more sanding and buffing. It is worth it in the end because d@mn!
These are not flawless finishes by any means. My hat is off to all who can pull that off. Lots of prep and lots of patience. Two things that some days I find in short supply.

very nice!

Very very nice. I love woodworking but I loathe sanding. I just don't have the patience. It's my loss really because I love the way your cab turned out. Maybe in 10 years i'll feel differently.

Dan30 wrote:Very very nice. I love woodworking but I loathe sanding. I just don't have the patience. It's my loss really because I love the way your cab turned out. Maybe in 10 years i'll feel differently.

Thanks...the older I get the better I get at patience ... and sanding. Maybe in ten more years I'll really get the hang of it.

Looks real good there, Steve!

Nice! looks and sounds like a tonne of work

What width is that AT?

AT is 14" wide.

What you need first is high build MDF or grain sealer this will get the wood to a metal smooth finish. Designed for wood not metal.

lincsoldbird wrote:What you need first is high build MDF or grain sealer this will get the wood to a metal smooth finish. Designed for wood not metal.

Even with 2 coats of high build primer, you still need to sand, and sand again... but it helps.

That's one sexy THT!

Thanks, Radian.
Here it is in the client's living room.

Looks great!

Great finish. What are the drivers in the other cabs?

That is a beautiful setup there. I'm not exactly sure I would have went with an orange wall behind my tv though.

Great work!

Wall was red and was not fond of it at all at first either, but with the flow and decor of the home and personality of the owners it really grew on you and fit. And while checking out and tuning THT performance it just disappeared while watching movies.